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Ukraine Officials Outraged At Shakhtar Coach Lucescu

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian soccer officials were outraged at accusations by Shakhtar Donetsk's Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu that his team were victims of a conspiracy in their bad-tempered league defeat by Dynamo Kiev.

Mircea Lucescu

Lucescu blamed Portuguese referee Paulo Gomes -- and Ukraine's soccer federation -- for his side's 1-0 loss in Kiev on Monday in a match marked by four red cards, including one issued to the Shakhtar coach.

"It would have been better had I not heard them," the popular Web site Dynamomania quoted him as saying after the post-match news conference.

"I am afraid I don't understand Romanian very well. Perhaps the translation was inaccurate. I intend to be more proper in my approach than Mr Lucescu." The head of the Ukrainian federation's referees' committee, Viktor Derdo, praised Gomes, who was brought in by the federation to officiate, for his handling of the key game.

"The players failed to control their nerves today and took it out on the referee," Dynamomania quoted Derdo as saying. "He was strong, decisive and unafraid to take the decisions he took."

Lucescu, fined $5,000 by the league earlier this year for using bad language during a match, said the referee "pushed Dynamo forward".

The daily Gazeta Sportilor said television cameras had caught Lucescu shouting in Romanian after the match: "Thieves! Bravo to the federation!"

Gomes sent off Shakhtar's Ukraine defender Dmitro Chigrinsky for his angry reaction to a tackle by Dynamo's Brazilian striker Kleber late in the first half before banishing Lucescu for protesting about the decision.

He later ejected Dynamo's Artem Milevsky after the Ukraine striker picked up his second yellow card midway through the second half. Shakhtar's Croatia international Darijo Srna was red-carded for unsportsmanlike conduct after the final whistle.

"I simply went up to the referee and told him he had made a series of bad decisions," Srna told Shakhtar's official site. "I was ashamed for him. But he showed me the red card. I was shocked."

Maxim Shatskikh scored the winner from close range in the 73rd minute to give Dynamo 35 points from 13 matches.